Cleveland Browns: Baker Mayfield talking with mature, proper mentality
The wheels fall off for Baker Mayfield in year two with the Cleveland Browns but he’s talking with the right mentality heading into the 2020 offseason.
There were critics of the Cleveland Browns when they made the semi-bold decision to select Baker Mayfield No. 1 overall in the 2018 draft, fresh off his Hesiman-winning season at Oklahoma. Once Mayfield got on the field in his rookie campaign though, those doubters started to look mighty silly as he threw for 3,725 yards, 27 touchdowns and 14 picks in only 14 games.
That led to a ton of hype around Mayfield and the Browns in the quarterback’s second season, coupled with the additions of Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon. There were some people talking about Super Bowl for this team but, for many reasons, that couldn’t have been farther from the case.
Now-former head coach Freddie Kitchens was to blame, as was the offensive line, Myles Garrett’s suspension, injuries in the secondary and even Beckham being banged up as well. At the end of the day, however, Mayfield was supposed to be the heart of the team and he was far from it in the 2019 campaign, throwing for 3,827 yards, 22 scores and 21 interceptions while his completion rate dipped 4.4 percent.
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Even in college, Mayfield was always a boisterous player never afraid to speak his mind and that carried into the NFL. However, it came off as misguided amidst Cleveland’s and his own struggles this past season. Rather than a fiery leader, he looked like a petulant fraud in many cases. The good news for Browns fans, however, is that he seems to recognize that.
While appearing on ESPN’s Get Up from Miami during Super Bowl week, Mayfield had the following to say about his speaking out — against the media, opponents and others — this year, via NFL.com:
"“It’s a humbling experience. It’s a different ballgame,” Mayfield said of his team’s struggle-filled 2019 campaign during an appearance on ESPN’s ‘Get Up’ in Miami. “Let’s just be honest, I put my foot in my mouth a lot this past year. And I’m going to internalize that, and I think that’s the way I need to handle it. Rest in peace Kobe, but that’s the way he did it. He motivated himself, he didn’t talk a lot, he talked to his teammates, drove them to be better people, better men. So that’s the way I need to handle it. I don’t need to respond to the things that don’t matter, the things that don’t help us win.”"
What Mayfield is saying is exactly the mentality he needs and one that’s quite mature. It’s okay to be passionate and fiery and to use that as fuel on the field. However, it becomes an issue and a distraction when you’re not using it on the field and it’s simply just empty words.
Empty words, however, are important in this instance. Because these could just be empty words from a battered young quarterback off of a bad year. What matters for him and the Browns as he enters a crucial third season in the NFL is to not just say the right things but to act on what he’s saying.
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There’s no doubt that Cleveland has many issues to fix now that Kevin Stefanski takes over the team. But the Browns aren’t going anywhere if Mayfield isn’t the right captain to guide the ship. What he said in Miami is the right mental state for him to be that guy but the next part is actually putting on the helmet and showing it.